Download The Age of Exploration

THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
The year is 1492. On a beach on
an island in the Caribbean Sea.
Two Taino girls were walking in the
cool shade of the palm trees eating
roasted sweet potatoes.
Renaissance Explorers
Imagine setting out across
an ocean that may or may
not contain sea monsters
or maps. Imagine sailing
for 96 days with no idea
when you will see land
again.
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Christopher Columbus
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Vasco da Gama
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Jacques Cartier
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Ferdinand Magellan
Jacques Cartier
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1534
Sailed for France
Discovered east
coast of Canada, St
Lawrence River
Traded with
Natives
Cartier’s major routes
Vasco De Gama
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1497
Sailed for Portugal
Found a route from
Europe to India
De Gama’s Major Routes
Ferdinand Magellan
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1521
Sailed for Portugal
First Explorer to
circumnavigate the
globe.
Christopher Columbus
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1492
Italian but sailed
for Spain
First to reach the
America’s
(Caribbean
Islands)
SANTA MARIA
Columbus’s Major Routes
The Influence of the Renaissance
Map of the World during
the Renaissance
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New way of thinking in
science and the arts
Believed in Humanism
and the Individual
Confidence to achieve
their dreams even
with dangers
Exploring to Expand Trade
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Trade with the East
Exploring for Gold
Exploring to Expand Christianity
Gold, Glory and God
Trade with the East
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Renaissance Europeans spent huge
amounts on luxury goods from the
East
Spices
Silks
The Spice Trade
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Arab merchants bought spices
in India
They would bring them to
Constantinople and sell them
to Italians
Italians would bring them to
Europe
Every step of the way the
price went up 100-2000 times
the original price
The Spice Trade
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High prices for
luxury goods was a
problem
So was security of
the trade routes.
Wars and power
shifts affected
trade
Example one
The collapse of
Mongol Empire
Example two
Muslims took over
christian
Constantinople
Consider a dilemma

You live in Renaissance Italy and you
have inherited a large sum of money.
You have the opportunity to invest in
a trading expedition travelling to
Constantinople or to find a new route
to the Asian spice markets. Which
would you choose and why?
Exploring for Gold
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Today list some ways of currency?
Can you imagine a time when there
wasn’t enough money to go around?
Renaissance (Gold) there wasn’t
enough
Traders needed gold for business
transactions.
Coins used (gold and silver)
European mines were running out
MANSA MOUSSA
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Muslim ruler of Mali (Northwest Africa)
Mali an important trade route (gold, silver, salt,
ivory and slaves)
1324 went on a pilgremage to Mecca
Brought a caravan of thousands
Carried Gold and gave to the poor along the way
Europeans shocked at how rich this guy was!
Exploring to Expand Christianity

The worldview of Renaissance Europe
was to expand christianity.
Quote from the Bible “Go into all the
world, and proclaim the good news
to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15)
Exploring to Expand Christianity

Renaissance Explorers believed they
were following Jesus’s wishes by
bringing christianity to the people
they visited.
Islamic Worldview
Five religious duties of Islam and the Qur’an
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
There is no god but Allah and
Muhammed is his messanger
Pray daily
Fast during the month of Ramadan
Give to the poor
Make a pilgremmage to Mecca once in
your life.
Religious Motives for
Exploration
“Prince Henry was stirred up by
his zeal for the service of
God…he wanted to know if
there were any Christian
Princes in whom the charity
and love of Christ was so
much that they would help
him against the Muslims…He
had a great desire to increase
the faith of Christians “
Gomes Eannes de Azurara,
Friend of Prince Henry
How does Prince Henry’s
religious worldview affect
his attitude toward the
Muslims?
Prince Henry’s Worldview
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Threatened by Muslims to the south
and east
Heard of the story of Christian King
Prester John and a long lost christian
land.
European Explorers
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In Canada explorers were accompanied by
missionaries.
Catholic and Anglican priests
Missionaries would preach to First Nations
Example : Robert Rundle of the Methodist Church
1850’s set up a school and church.
Homework
Materials needed
Chapter handout
Page 113
Questions
1)A 2) A
The Means to Explore
1.
2.
3.
4.
Think about your academic fair due in february.
Equipment
Money
Time
Skills
These are all called means. Renaissance
Explorers had the mental outlook and
motivation to explore to…..
Expand trade, find gold, influence christianity
Renaissance Explorers borrowed
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1.
2.
Just like you borrow some ideas from peers
who have completed academic fairs before
you…why reinvent the wheel. Renaissance
explorers borrowed from
Ancient Greeks and Romans (math, science
philosophy, art)
Muslim cultures (math, mapping)
Expanding the Known World
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Europeans knowledge was limited
Books by travellers like Marco Polo were full of
misinformation. (He travelled to China by
caravan)
Maps by Italian Monk Fra Mauro (1459)
and Ptolemy’s idea of the world (1482)
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How are these two maps similar and different?
Which map do you think might have encouraged
Europeans to look for a sea route to China or
India?
How is the worldview of Fra Mauro’s map
different from that of Psalter Map on page 30
Expanding Navigational Technology
Navigation: The science of determining
course, position, and distance
travelled by ship. It comes from the
Latin word navis (ship) and agere (to
drive)
Prince Henry the Navigator
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Prince Henry of Portugal
Huge interest in ships and
navigation
Was wealthy like the
Medici’s
Became a patron of
explorers (sponsored them
with money)
Created a centre to study
navigation
Instruments for Navigation
Compass
Used for finding
the direction a ship
is travelling
Developed in China
About 1700 years
ago
Astrolabe
Used the north star or
sun to calculate
latitude, the distance
north or south of the
equator
Invented by ancient
Greeks, Arab
mathematicians and
astronomers
Cross-staff
Used to measure the
altitude of the Pole
star above the horizon
to determine latitude
Invented around 1342
for astronomy and
used in 1514 in
navigation
Back-staff
Used to measure
the altitude of the
Sun to determine
latitude.
Developed in 1594
as an improvement
over the cross-staff
Think it through?
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Which of these instruments do you
think was the most important for
navigation?
What tools can we use today for
navigation?
European Expansion
Expansionism: the actions and
attitudes of a state or country whose
goal is to increase it’s power and
territory.
Exploration Begins
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Started by Going EAST
Portugal
West coast of Africa
Trading posts along the way
Gold trade and Slave trade
Started sugar plantations in the Caribbean Islands and used
African slaves to work the farms.
For 3 centuries millions of African slaves were captured and
millions died on route from the terrible conditions on slave
ships.
Battle of Exploration between Spain and
Portugal
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Vasco De Gama (Portugal) travelling in 1497 and
found India
Pressure on Spain and Columbus found the “West
Indies” in 1492
Similar to the Space Race in the 1960’s
Columbus and Magellan
Spanish Explorers
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Convinced he could find a shorter route by sailing
west.
Took 33 days to sail across Atlantic
Later years took 3 more trips for gold and spices
Died bitter and poor after his 4th voyage in 1506
Magellan sailed around the world and reached the
Philippines.
Was killed after getting involved in a local war but
his ship reached Spain full of spices and
circumnavigated the globe.
Homework
Page 126
Questions 1.a,b